DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, Poland -- Teamwork is a something U.S. Soldiers strive to improve on everyday. It contributes to the overall success of missions. Building cohesive teams requires a skillset that all good leaders need. Every good leader spends some time every day teaching their subordinates to both be part of, and how to build, a motivated, creative and determined team, that is always ready to face the next challenge.
Working as a team is also something that the U.S. military works to improve on with its NATO Allies. Through bi-lateral training events and community engagements, U.S. Army leaders are continually making progress improving interoperability and readiness with Allied militaries.
This was demonstrated in the most recent urban operations training event that took place between the Paratroopers assigned to Company D, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and Polish Soldiers assigned to the 6th Airborne Battalion, 16th Airborne Brigade in Wedrzyn, Poland, on November 21, 2016.
"We have been working on urban operations with the Polish by teaching how we do it and learning how they do it," 1st. Lt. Alexander Canacci, officer in charge of range operations, D Co., 503rd Inf. Regt., 173rd Abn. Bde., said. "The biggest thing is the constant improvement and a shared trust between the two countries."
Throughout the unit's rotation in Poland this year, the "Sky Soldiers" have been constantly training side-by-side with Polish Soldiers to improve their skills. Throughout this process the Paratroopers have learned from their European brethren as well, while Soldiers from both countries have shared a fundamental knowledge of what it takes to be infantry.
"For us," Pfc. Mariusz Kwidzinskei, a Polish Soldier assigned to 6th Abn. Bn., 16th Abn. Bde., said, "it is really important when we can train with other armies, like the American army, because we can watch your technique and compare it with ours. We can take your part of the technique and if it's good for us, we will try it too."
A part of the mission throughout Eastern Europe for the 173rd Abn. Bde. is to help strengthen the NATO Alliance. This is done in part by enhancing Allies' light infantry tactical capabilities by sharing tactics and training techniques and procedures. The integration of this goal into everyday training is the key to success for the unit during its rotation at Atlantic Resolve.
"Building a shared understanding and a mutual trust is what this is all about," Canacci said. "So, if I understand how he does it and he understands how I do it, we don't necessarily have to do it the same way.
"As long as we understand what each others outcome is going to be," he said, "we will accomplish the mission together -- even if we don't have the same tactics when going into a situation."
As the U.S. continues its commitment to Poland and its NATO Allies in the Baltics, the "Sky Soldiers" of the 173rd Abn. Bde. will continue to be a part of a multinational force that spans international borders, enhancing NATO's collective capabilities.
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The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, is the Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, and is capable of projecting forces to conduct full of range of military operations across the United States European, Central and Africa Commands areas of responsibility within 18 hours.
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U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
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